SAN FRANCISCO — On the 25th anniversary of its arrival to the U.S. Supreme Court, the historic legal battle over the “Gay Olympics” is the subject of a documentary, airing on PBS stations around the country beginning June, 2011, and running throughout the summer.
San Francisco filmmakers Jonathan Joiner and Robert Martin capture a rich history of events in the LGBT civil rights movement in CLAIMING THE TITLE: GAY OLYMPICS ON TRIAL. The half-hour documentary is both historic and timely — revealing the hidden conflicts behind a lawsuit that many in the community believed to be a risky challenge to a high profile institution.
The film examines the lawsuit that pitted Olympic athlete Tom Waddell and movement legal activist Mary Dunlap against the U.S. Olympics Committee and its ultimate resolution before the U.S. Supreme Court. The case was lifted into the news again recently and linked to the same-sex marriage fight due to the ironic role of Vaughn Walker, who was an attorney for the Olympic Committee in their fight to stop the “Gay Olympics” and in 2010 was the federal judge who declared California’s same-sex marriage ban unconstitutional.